Thursday 4 September 2008

Do not mess with fish 2

and you thought fish were fun, Flying fish jumps into man's eye. a large needle fish caught by Owen. While numerous boaters have been injured by silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and Sturgeon (to many species to list) leaping out of the water, most are lucky enough to come away with just cuts and bruises, more of this in later posts. However, one patient admitted to a hospital in Guadeloupe was rather unluckier. He was quietly enjoying the Caribbean sun when a needlefish leapt out of the sea and impaled his eye socket. The fish tried to flap free, causing serious damage to the man's optic nerve. It eventually snapped off its beak, leaving it stuck inside the man's eye socket. Perhaps most amazingly, the man waited five days before popping in to casualty to have the lump of bone removed from his mangled eye socket. Consequently, even after the removal of the bone fragments and a course of antibiotics he lost the sight in the affected eye... So if you're going to Guadeloupe or anywhere else in the tropics for your holiday this year please look out for flying fish, or wear sunglasses. This form Germany, medical journal Klinische Monatsblatter fur Augenheilkunde reports that a patient dropped in to the University of Guadeloupe's Eye Clinic five days after a "flying fish" impacted with the patients eye. Despite operating on the wound, cleaning it thoroughly, removing the bone fragments and following a course of antibiotics, the patient lost his sight. For more details see: Martin M, Orgul S, Robertson A, Flammer J. (2004) - Traumatic lesion of the optic nerve head by flying fish: a case report. Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd. 2004 May;221(5):410-3. And there I was out in the gulf of Siam last week surrounded by the things!

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